blown away land yachting st andrews

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Blown Away Experiences - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

Blown Away Experiences

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Land Yachting on the Beach at St Andrews

On your marks… Get set and sail! Head to St. Andrews for a two-hour land yachting session. If you’ve never experienced sailing on wheels, then get ready for tons of fun as you whiz up and down the beach only a few inches from the ground. This exhilarating experience is undoubtedly something you don’t want to miss out on while you’re in St. Andrews. The key thing to master is how to stop as there are no brakes. Slow down by turning into the wind or easing the sail.

Where can I go land yachting in Scotland?

‘Blown Away’ offers a range of activities, including land yachting, kayaking, stand-up paddleboarding, and surfing. They also cater to larger hen, stag, or corporate parties who are looking for something different to add to their bucket list. The two-hour session costs £55 per person or £45 for those under 16.

Land Yachting Guide

• Sailing a land yacht is easier than sailing a boat. There are no waves or risk of capsizing or falling overboard.
• Remember the sail is your accelerator. If your need to stop or gain control let go of your mainsail.
• Land yachting is considered a safe sport in comparison to other action sports. Always wear a helmet.

St. Andrews, home to Scotland’s first university founded in 1413, is a great place for a day out and exploring. St. Andrews is most famously known as the “Home of Golf” and even if you don’t play you can watch golfers tee off on the Old Course. With lots of cafes and pubs to meet up in after a fun day at the beach, this is a great place to try this thrilling sport! West Sands Beach was the film location for the opening scene of Hugh Hudson’s, Academy Award-winning film, ‘Chariots of Fire’.

• Master the basic skills in as little as 15-20 minutes
• Receive a full demonstration of how to sail and then get out there to practice
• Pre-booking is required and bookings are subject to change depending on the weather
• Helmets are provided but please bring gloves and protective goggles
• Please contact ‘Blown Away’ for special group rates and availability

Check out things to do nearby...

The Old Course at St Andrews

Visit the World Golf Museum in St Andrews

British Golf Museum in St Andrews

Explore the Aquarium in St Andrews

Enjoy a Bowie themed dining experience at Ziggy’s

Visit St Andrews Museum

Visit St Andrews Castle

Take a Food & Drink Tour of St Andrews

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The Sproson Art Gallery in St Andrews

The Fraser Art Gallery in St Andrews

Visit Jannetta’s Gelateria in St. Andrews

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Blown Away Experiences

This mobile outdoor experience company operates all over Scotland, and is regularly based in St Andrews’ West Sands.

Blown Away Experiences offer a variety of exhilarating beach based activities including beach kayaking and stand up paddling, one of the fastest growing watersports in the world and a favourite of celebrities including Jennifer Aniston and Pierce Brosnan.

Why not try your hand at land yachting? This thrilling activity involves racing your friends across the beach, a fantastic combination of sailing and motor racing.

Other activities include zapcatting, where you will be riding on inflatable catamarans across the water. The whole family will love the beach Olympics, an outdoor playground on the sand.

These activities are perfect for team building days, stag and hen parties, and families.

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Blown Away Experiences

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BLOWN AWAY EXPERIENCES (St. Andrews) - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go

Blown Away Experiences

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Blown Away Experiences - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

Case closed after St. Andrews Bay Yacht Club fire

ST. ANDREWS, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) - The fire that destroyed the St. Andrews Bay Yacht Club is now reported as accidental and the case was closed.

A Division of Investigative and Forensic Services report stated the fire’s cause was undetermined.

As to where the fire started, the report lists it likely started at or on the floor of the second-floor ballroom area, or the high ceiling level of the first floor, directly below the ballroom.

However, due to extreme safety concerns, they could not reach the area because the floor was burned away, and could not determine the cause.

After speaking with neighbors and checking out nearby cameras, detectives did not find suspicious activity.

The case was closed due to insufficient evidence and there are no further leads.

Copyright 2024 WJHG. All rights reserved.

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St. Andrews, Scotland: The Complete Guide

Located on the east coast of Scotland in the historic county of Fife, St. Andrews has much to offer anyone with an interest in medieval architecture, world-class golf courses, and fine farm-to-table cuisine. Once the ecclesiastical capital of Scotland, the picturesque coastal town is now most famous for the University of St. Andrews (the third-oldest university in Britain and the place where Prince William met Kate Middleton); and for the seven championship golf courses that have earned it its reputation as the Home of Golf. 

History of St. Andrews 

The land around the Eden Estuary, which flows into St. Andrews Bay to the northeast of the present town, has been inhabited since at least the middle Stone Age. However, St. Andrews as we know it today has its origins in the 8th century, when Pictish King Oengus I established a monastery there in honor of the patron saint of the Picts (and later of Scotland). The monastery was said to house the sacred relics of St. Andrew, and in time the settlement that grew up around it came to be known by the same name. 

In 906, the Bishop of Alba transferred his seat from Dunkeld to St. Andrews and in 1160, work began on St. Andrews Cathedral. As the largest church in Scotland, the cathedral made the town the most important place of pilgrimage in the entire country and one of the most significant in Europe. St. Andrews became Scotland’s ecclesiastical capital and enjoyed considerable economic and political influence as well until the mid-16th century when the Scottish Reformation resulted in the country’s separation from the Catholic church. 

With the bishopric dissolved and its status as ecclesiastical capital revoked, St. Andrews fell into a decline that lasted well into the 18th century. At this time, the town began to be recognized as a haven for golfers and in 1754 the Royal and Ancient Golf Club was founded, making St. Andrews home to the world’s most influential golfing authority. Today, golf continues to be one of the main attractions for visitors, while the University of St. Andrews’ status as one of the top three universities in the U.K. means that the city is considered a center for higher learning as well.  

Top Things to Do

• Visit One of the Golf Courses: St. Andrews is home to no fewer than seven world-class golf courses, which together make up the largest public golf complex in Europe, St. Andrews Links . These are the Old, New, Jubilee, Eden, Strathtyrum, Balgove, and Castle courses, with the Old Course (home of The Open Championship) often being hailed as the most iconic golf course in the world. All seven courses are open to members of the public, and you can also discover 500 years of golfing history at the town's British Golf Museum . 
• Tour St. Andrews Cathedral: Constructed in the 12th century, St. Andrews Cathedral was the largest building in Scotland for seven centuries. Pilgrims once came from all over Europe to worship there until Catholic mass was banned in the wake of the Scottish Reformation and the great building fell into disuse and eventually to ruin. Despite its dilapidated state, the ruins are still spectacularly beautiful. Climb St. Rule’s Tower for sweeping views of St. Andrews and the surrounding countryside or visit the cathedral museum to gaze in wonder at a collection of medieval sculptures and relics as well as a Pictish sarcophagus. 
• Take a Stroll Through St. Andrews Castle: Another of the town’s historical treasures, St. Andrews Castle was also built in the 12th century and occupies a beautiful setting just above the shoreline. For 450 years the castle was the official residence of the country’s premier bishops and archbishops and during the Reformation years, it was the scene of several pivotal (and violent) events. These include the burning of Protestant preacher George Wishaw, the murder of Cardinal Beaton in retaliation, and a subsequent siege that led to underground mine passages being dug by both sides. These passages and the castle’s infamous bottle dungeon can still be explored today. 
• Learn about the Town's History at St. Andrews Museum: To learn more about the town’s fascinating history—from its time as a medieval religious center to its modern reincarnation as an education and golfing hub—pay a visit to St. Andrews Museum . The museum is housed in a Victorian mansion in Kinburn Park and hosts a permanent exhibition entitled "St. Andrews A-Z" as well as an ever-changing roster of temporary exhibits. Keep an eye out for lectures, concerts, and workshops that coincide with your visit, and plan to stay for lunch at the welcoming Café in the Park.
• Hit the Beaches: St. Andrews has two beaches. The largest is West Sands Beach, a 2-mile-long stretch of sand famous as the filming location for the opening scenes of "Chariots of Fire." The northern end of the beach is a popular haunt for kitesurfers and also for nature lovers since it overlooks the Eden Estuary with its frequent sightings of seals and seabirds. East Sands Beach is a family favorite, with a children’s play area and lifeguards during peak season. Its location near the old harbor and the sailing club also makes it a great venue for watersports that range from fishing and surfing to kayaking and swimming. 

Where to Stay

Visitors to St. Andrews are spoiled for choice in terms of places to stay. For the charm of a family-owned and run country hotel built in the early 1900s and set amidst 10 acres of award-winning gardens, choose Rufflets Hotel. The Dunvegan Hotel is a golfers’ paradise located within a nine-iron of the Old Course; just check out the floor-to-ceiling photographs in the lounge bar to see which golfing greats have stayed there before you. For unrivaled luxury on the 17th hole of St. Andrews’ most famous course, book a night or two at the Old Course Hotel Golf Resort & Spa . 

St. Andrews also has a wealth of B&Bs. Our favorites are 34 Argyle Street Guesthouse with its luxurious, contemporary suites and secluded garden; and Knockhill Farm Bed & Breakfast for rustic style and a stunning rural setting in a converted barn located just 5 miles from the center of town. 

Where to Eat and Drink

In addition to its rich history and championship golf courses, St. Andrews also boasts an excellent culinary scene. For modern Scottish cuisine in a 17th-century converted farmhouse with panoramic views of the town and bay, try The Grange Inn . The Räv is a bastion of contemporary European cooking prepared with the finest local produce and served in a loft-style setting overlooking the university’s St. Salvator’s Chapel. If it’s seafood you’re after, you can’t go wrong at Haar , where British delicacies including North Sea cod and hand-dived Hebridean scallops are prepared and plated in exquisite style. For laid-back lunches and afternoon teas, head to Café in the Square , located in the middle of downtown St. Andrews. 

Although St. Andrews is not known for its club scene, there are plenty of places to enjoy a drink. We love The Criterion , a traditional Scottish pub established in 1874 with year-round outdoor seating and over 160 different types of whisky; and St. Andrews Brewing Co. on South Street. At the latter, you’ll find 18 craft beers, ales, and ciders on tap in addition to small-batch gins and whiskies. 

Best Time to Visit

Despite being on the same latitude as Moscow, St. Andrews has a relatively mild climate and is renowned as one of the driest, sunniest areas of Scotland thanks to the sheltering effects of several mountain ranges. The hottest, driest month of the year is July, with average highs of around 66 degrees F (19 degrees C); while the coldest, wettest month is January with average lows of around 32 degrees F (0 degrees C). In terms of weather, summer (June to August) is the most pleasant time to visit St. Andrews, especially if you plan on spending much of your time outside on the golf courses and beaches. Visitor numbers swell at this time, although the town’s student population is not in residence. Be sure to book accommodation and tours well in advance. 

Getting There

Most international visitors will fly into Edinburgh Airport. From there, you can rent a car and drive 50 miles northeast across the Firth of Forth to St. Andrews, a journey that takes approximately 1.5 hours. Alternatively, Dundee Airport offers air links to and from London City Airport and George Best Belfast City Airport and is only 13 miles northwest of St. Andrews. You can drive between the two in just half an hour. 

If you choose not to rent a car, it is possible to get to St. Andrews using public transport, although the town does not have its own train station. Instead, trains on the Edinburgh-Dundee and Edinburgh-Aberdeen lines stop at Leuchars, a 10-minute taxi drive from central St. Andrews. There is also a Stagecoach bus that connects the town to the train station. The Caledonian Sleeper service, which travels overnight from London Euston, also stops at Leuchars. 

St. Andrews is connected to Edinburgh, Stirling, Dundee, and most other towns in Fife by a reliable bus network. 

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In the media.

“St. Andrews, New Brunswick is Canada’s most idyllic town for work, life and play. It’s truly a town for all seasons.”

- Maritime Edit

The Algonquin Golf Course received an honourable mention in the ‘Best Golf Resorts in Canada’, Golf Digest Editors’ Choice 2021.

- Golf Digest

Proudly featured in Cond é Nast Traveler’s ’15 Charming Small Towns in Canada for a Relaxing Getaway.’

- CNTraveler.com

St. Andrews Welcome Centre / Chamber of Commerce

Address: 5-24 Reed Ave St. Andrews E5B 1A1 NB

Phone: +1 (506)-529-3555

Email: [email protected]

Russia-Ukraine War Moscow Says It Shot Down Two Ukrainian Missiles Over Russian Cities

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• Zaporizhzhia Riding a local bus. Diego Ibarra Sanchez for The New York Times
• Odesa A Ukrainian soldier on a break from duty with his son. Emile Ducke for The New York Times
• Zaporizhzhia Waiting to collect humanitarian aid. Diego Ibarra Sanchez for The New York Times
• Zaporizhzhia A farmer and his son repairing a pickup for Ukraine's military. Diego Ibarra Sanchez for The New York Times
• Zaporizhzhia Relaxing on the bank of the Dnipro River. Diego Ibarra Sanchez for The New York Times
• Zaporizhzhia region Treating an injured Ukrainian serviceman. Reuters
• Zaporizhzhia region Medics helping an injured Ukrainian serviceman. Kateryna Klochko/Associated Press
• Kyiv region Ukrainian soldiers on a German-made anti-aircraft vehicle. Sergei Supinsky/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
• Donetsk region Ukrainian soldiers at the front line. Tyler Hicks/The New York Times
• Odesa Cleaning up at the damaged Transfiguration Cathedral. Jae C. Hong/Associated Press

At least nine people were injured when one missile was downed, Russia says.

Moscow said it downed two Ukrainian missiles over southwestern Russia on Friday, including one that fell and exploded in a city center, suggesting that Ukraine is stepping up its attacks inside Russia just as its counteroffensive on the battlefield enters a more intense phase.

The incidents appeared to be rare instances of Ukraine using missiles to attack targets inside Russia, a sign of a more aggressive campaign to expand a war that until now has brought death and destruction almost exclusively to Ukrainian territory.

Video and photographs circulated by Russian state media and local outlets showed the aftermath of a blast in the port city of Taganrog, on the Sea of Azov, roughly 30 miles from the Russian-controlled border with Ukraine and less than 100 miles from the front line. Nine people were hospitalized with light to moderate injuries, and no one was killed, according to the regional governor, Vasily Golubev. Images from the scene showed piles of rubble and blown-out windows and garage doors.

Mr. Golubev said the blast was caused by a downed missile that hit near an art museum and a cafe. The Russian Defense Ministry said the explosion was caused by one of two Soviet-era missiles fired into Russian territory by Ukraine and shot down by Russian air defenses.

Ukraine did not claim responsibility for the missile attacks, but officials did not deny Kyiv had launched them either. A top Ukrainian security official, Oleksiy Danilov, cast blame for the blast in Taganrog on the Russian air defense system.

“The events in Taganrog are nothing more than completely illiterate actions of the operators of Russian air defense systems,” Mr. Danilov said. His statement seemed to deliberately echo the Kremlin denial that it was responsible for a missile strike at a historic cathedral in Odesa last Sunday. The Russians blamed the destruction on “illiterate actions of Ukrainian defense forces.”

Russia’s Defense Ministry said a second missile was shot down over the city of Azov, about 10 miles from the eastern coast of the sea and 25 miles southeast of Taganrog. The debris from that missile fell in a deserted area, the ministry said. The ministry claimed that both missiles were fired by a Soviet-era S-200 air-defense system that had been converted for attacks against targets on the ground.

Dmitri S. Peskov, the Kremlin’s spokesman, said that President Vladimir V. Putin was briefed on the incidents at his summit with African leaders in St. Petersburg, Russia .

Earlier Friday, Russia’s Defense Ministry said it had shot down a drone aimed at the Moscow region ; several recent strikes in Moscow were orchestrated by Ukraine using Ukrainian-made drones, according to senior Ukrainian officials.

While Ukraine has sought repeatedly to launch attacks inside Russia, missile strikes on Russian territory have been rare — in part because Ukraine has pledged not to use the long-range weapons provided by Western allies to hit targets in Russia, a condition the Western powers have insisted on before supplying the weapons.

Meanwhile, air attacks on Ukraine continued. On Friday evening, air-raid alerts were issued for the entire country, and blasts were reported in the Zaporizhzhia and Dnipro regions. Shortly afterward, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that a high-rise and a security service building had been hit in the city of Dnipro, blaming “Russian missile terror.”

— Anton Troianovski and Marc Santora

With its grinding gains, Ukraine is aiming for a better shot at Russian targets.

Ukrainian officials have cautioned that their drive toward the Sea of Azov, a key objective of their counteroffensive, will require a bloody slog through extensive minefields and fortified trenches, likely under heavy artillery fire along roads lined with Russian armor and machine guns. But Kyiv has a more immediate goal.

That is to penetrate deep enough into occupied territory to bring more Russian military targets within range of Ukraine’s gradually expanding arsenal, further disrupting Moscow’s supply lines and its ability to parry Ukrainian advances.

“The main task we face now, in addition to moving forward, is, of course, to weaken the enemy’s ability to defend itself,” Hanna Malyar, the deputy minister of defense, said on Ukrainian national television. “And in fact, this is what we are doing now.”

The Ukrainian military claims to be destroying dozens of Russian weapons depots every week while constantly searching for command posts, air defense systems and concentrations of troops to hit.

It is not possible to independently assess Ukraine’s success in degrading Russian forces and logistical operations. But this month, Col. Serhii Baranov of the Ukrainian military’s general staff, claimed that Ukrainian rockets and artillery had been responsible for the vast majority of Russian losses of soldiers and equipment.

Brig. Gen. Oleksandr Tarnavsky, the commander of Ukraine’s military fighting in Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia, compared the counteroffensive to a boxing match, saying that Ukraine intends to strike with longer range weapons to “hold the opponent at arm’s length” in order to avoid close combat.

Last year, after the United States supplied longer-range rocket systems known as HIMARS to Kyiv, Russia was forced to move more of its logistical operations and bases out of the 50-mile range of the rockets, closer to the coast of the Sea of Azov.

Before Ukraine launched its counteroffensive two months ago, its frontline positions were between 60 and 90 miles from the coast, just out of the reach of HIMARS, truck-mounted launchers that fire satellite-guided rockets .

That means that every mile that Ukraine gains in its current assault, the closer it gets to Russian targets along the coast.

Though the HIMARS are mobile — the name stands for High Mobility Artillery Rocket System — Ukrainian forces have a limited number, and prefer to keep them some distance from the front line. And over time, the Russians have shown an ability to adapt to HIMARS strikes, dispersing their supplies, as well as jamming the weapon’s GPS guidance.

The Ukrainians must first consolidate their gains and show they can hold newly reclaimed territory, often in the face of Russian aerial and artillery bombardment, in order to significantly change the dynamic on the battlefield, analysts say.

HIMARS and other newly supplied Western weapons are far more powerful than the long-range drones that Ukraine has turned to strike Russian supply routes far from the front. One route runs through Crimea, which Russia has illegally occupied since 2014. The only land route from Russia to Crimea is the Kerch Bridge, which has come under attack twice during the war, with Moscow blaming Ukraine each time.

Ukraine has also attacked the major roads connecting Crimea to the southern Ukrainian mainland.

Moscow’s other main supply route runs from western Russia through the occupied territories of eastern Ukraine, where Kyiv’s forces are also attempting to advance near the occupied city of Bakhmut.

— Marc Santora reporting from Kyiv, Ukraine

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Brazil declines to extradite an accused Russian spy the U.S. might want for a prisoner swap with Russia.

Brazil has denied the U.S. government’s extradition request for an accused Russian spy in Brazilian custody, weakening hopes that he could be used in a potential prisoner swap between the United States and Russia for either or both of two Americans being held in Russia on espionage charges that Washington considers bogus.

Brazil said it denied the U.S. request because it was still investigating the case and had already begun processing a Russian request for the extradition of the accused spy, Sergey Cherkasov, though it also appeared unlikely that Brazil would ultimately send him to Russia.

“At the moment, the citizen in question will remain in detention in Brazil,” Brazil’s justice minister, Flávio Dino, said on Twitter .

The United States has been seeking ways to free the two Americans being held in Russia. One is Evan Gershkovich , a reporter for The Wall Street Journal who has been detained in Russia for four months. The other is Paul Whelan, who was detained in 2018 and is now serving a 16-year prison sentence. The United States considers both “wrongfully detained,” meaning the equivalent of political prisoners.

Brazil has held Mr. Cherkasov, 37, for more than a year on charges of using falsified documents. In March, the U.S. Justice Department formally accused him of spying in the United States, lodging charges that include acting as a foreign agent and visa fraud. The U.S. authorities have sought his extradition since.

Before those accusations, Russia had sought Mr. Cherkasov’s extradition from Brazil, saying that he was actually a criminal drug trafficker. Brazilian authorities preliminarily approved Russia’s request, pending Brazil’s broader investigation into accusations of espionage.

Mr. Dino, Brazil’s justice minister, said on Thursday that the decision to deny the U.S. request was based on international treaties and Brazilian law.

Mr. Cherkasov’s extradition to any country would require the approval of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who has sought to keep Brazil neutral in the war in Ukraine.

Mr. Cherkasov lived in Brazil from 2012 to 2018, posing as a Brazilian named Victor Muller Ferreira, according to both the U.S. and Brazilian authorities. In 2018, he moved to the United States and attended Johns Hopkins University.

He then secured an internship at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, which is investigating potential Russian war crimes in Ukraine. But when he arrived at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport in April last year to begin the job, immigration authorities tipped off by Dutch intelligence sent him back to Brazil, where he was arrested and sentenced to 15 years in prison on fraud charges.

Separately this week, a Brazilian court reduced Mr. Cherkasov’s prison sentence for fraud to five years, saying it was more appropriate based on his current conviction. He would face harsher consequences if convicted of espionage.

The U.S. Embassy in Brazil declined to comment on whether U.S. officials saw Mr. Cherkasov as a potential candidate to swap for either or both of the two Americans . If extradited to the United States, he would become perhaps the only accused Russian spy in U.S. custody. Analysts have seen him as a potential chip in such negotiations .

— Jack Nicas and Paulo Motoryn Reporting from Rio de Janeiro and Brasília

A Ukrainian fencer penalized for refusing a Russian handshake is guaranteed a spot in the Paris Olympics.

Olga Kharlan, a four-time Olympic fencing medalist who was disqualified from the world fencing championships in Milan on Thursday after refusing to shake hands with her Russian opponent, will be guaranteed a spot at the Summer Olympics in Paris next year under a “unique exception," the International Olympic Committee president said on Friday.

She will also be permitted to compete in the world championship’s team competition, the International Fencing Federation announced on Friday.

The earlier decision to disqualify Ms. Kharlan, 32, removed her from a key ranking event for Olympic qualification. She won the gold medal in the team saber competition at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

On Thursday, when Ms. Kharlan defeated Anna Smirnova, a Russian fencer competing under neutral status, the Russian extended her hand to Ms. Kharlan, who extended her saber instead. A fencing bout is over only once the two fencers have saluted each other and shaken hands — and Ms. Kharlan was disqualified for not complying.

The fencing federation’s interim president, Emmanuel Katsiadakis, said in a statement that the decision to allow Ms. Kharlan to compete in the championship’s team event “sends a message of sensitivity and understanding to our members and all sports federations, as the world faces tremendous challenges.”

Ms. Kharlan said in a statement on Friday that she was thankful for the decision.

“The most important thing for an athlete is to be able to compete, for my family, my team, my country and all the people who support me,” she said. “During these difficult few days, I appreciate all the support I’ve had from around the world.”

The International Olympic Committee’s president, Thomas Bach, wrote in a personal letter to Ms. Kharlan on Friday that it was “admirable how you are managing this incredibly difficult situation, and I would like to express my full support to you.”

“As a fellow fencer, it is impossible for me to imagine how you feel at this moment,” he wrote, citing “the war against your country, the suffering of people in Ukraine,” and “the difficult inner conflicts you and many of your fellow Ukrainian athletes may have, and then the events which unfolded yesterday.”

Mr. Bach added that the committee would “continue to stand in full solidarity with Ukrainian athletes and the Olympic community of Ukraine.”

The exchange between the two athletes may portend further tension in the run-up to the Paris Games. The I.O.C. did not invite Russia and Belarus to compete in Paris as nations, but it is still possible for athletes from both to participate in qualifying events as neutral athletes so long as they meet certain requirements, such as not having shown public support for the invasion.

Because of an editing error, an earlier version of this article said Ukrainian officials have threatened to boycott the Paris Summer Games if Russians are allowed to compete for their country. But as the article states, the International Olympic Committee did not formally invite Russia, or its close ally Belarus, to compete in Paris as nations, so their athletes could compete only as neutral individuals, and Ukraine withdrew its boycott threat this week.

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— Gaya Gupta

Ukraine reclaims a southern village, but a brutal fight still lies ahead.

The Ukrainian military said on Friday that it was “consolidating” gains after President Volodymyr Zelensky declared that Ukraine had retaken one southern village in a renewed push into Russian-occupied territory.

The village, Staromaiorske, had been under Russian occupation since the early months of the war and was reclaimed by Ukrainian troops under heavy fire from Russian aircraft and artillery. The fighting for the village, effectively a ruin, offers a small window into the brutal battles that lie ahead as Ukraine’s troops try to break through multiple layers of Russian defensive positions that stretch around 20 miles deep in some areas.

“The battle for this village was difficult and long,” Ukraine’s 35th Brigade, which took part in the battle, said in a statement . “Every centimeter of liberation is the price of superhuman effort.”

The exact state of the fighting is hard to gauge. Russian forces do not allow independent journalists to work in occupied territory, and the Ukrainian military has curtailed news media access for safety reasons and to maintain operational security.

But Ukraine’s claim that it had retaken Staromaiorske was supported by videos verified by The New York Times that show Ukrainian troops inside the village. In one, soldiers walk through an apocalyptic scene of destroyed homes and charred armored vehicles. A dead soldier lies in the grass, weapons by his side. Satellite images show that the homes were intact as of early June.

Kyiv is committing more reserves and Western military equipment to its two-month-old counteroffensive as its fighters attempt to drive forward along two main lines of attack on the southern front. Their ultimate aim is to sever the so-called land bridge between western Russia and Russian-occupied Crimea that has been a crucial logistical route for Moscow’s war effort.

One of those thrusts is in the direction of the occupied port city of Berdiansk, from which Ukraine hopes to reach the Sea of Azov. The Ukrainian claim that it retook Staromaiorske puts its forces one step closer in their march to the sea, though they have yet to break through Russia’s main defensive lines.

Where Ukraine is mounting its counteroffensive

Ukraine’s three

major fronts

Main effort,

Staromaiorske

ZAPORIZHZHIA

Less than five miles to the south is Russian-occupied Staromlynivka. That village is on high ground, which gives Russian forces a defensive advantage and could be the next major test of the Ukrainian offensive.

The second main thrust south is in the direction of Melitopol, a city known as the gateway to Crimea because of its location at the crossroads of two major highways and a crucial rail line.

Ukrainian forces have pushed at least six miles deep in this direction south of the town of Orikhiv, in the Zaporizhzhia region. There, around the village of Robotyne, occupation officials and Russian military bloggers have been reporting intense battles.

Analysts for the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based research group, cited videos released on social media that suggest “Ukrainian forces made additional advances east of Robotyne.” But the group wrote in its latest daily analysis on Thursday that it could not confirm the advances.

The Kremlin has repeatedly sought to cast the offensive as a failure and continued to maintain that it was thwarting Ukraine’s attacks. Kyiv has remained largely silent on where else its troops may be advancing and the losses they are suffering.

Two Ukrainian service members get a break from the fighting to say ‘I do.’

The groom could not wait to kiss the bride.

He kissed her when she walked down the aisle, and during the ceremony. He kissed her after his vows, after hers, and again when they finally said “I do.”

Maksym Merezhko, 43, and the bride, Yuliia Dluzhynska, 39, both serve in Ukraine’s military and had traveled to Kyiv the night before from the eastern Donetsk region. They had no time to lose.

After a three-day honeymoon in the Carpathian Mountains , Ms. Dluzhynska said, “We will go to war.”

The celebration was provided free of charge by Zemliachky, roughly translated as “Women Compatriots,” a charity group that provides uniforms, boots and other essentials to female soldiers but, because of demand, recently started to organize their weddings. The couple had been officially married days before, signing a marriage license in a stuffy room in Sloviansk. But they wanted a true celebration.

“It takes a lot of time to organize a wedding, and when you are on the front line, you don’t have that free time,” said Kseniia Drahaniuk, Zemliachky’s co-founder.

Everything is donated — the dress, venue, photography, flowers, hair, makeup, rings, cake, lingerie and the honeymoon, too — saving couples significant expense and the stress of planning.

On the day of her wedding, earlier this month, Ms. Dluzhynska picked out white peonies for her bouquet before heading to a brightly lit salon.

Wearing a camouflage windbreaker and sipping a “NonStop Military Edition” energy drink, she emanated composure as two women pinned her blond hair into an updo.

“He has never seen me like this,” Ms. Dluzhynska said of the groom. “It is his dream to see me in a dress with makeup on.”

Asked what she loved most about her soon-to-be husband, she melted.

“Everything,” she said, her eyes welling, sending the beauticians into a tizzy of touch-ups.

They met three years ago through a dating website and were soon planning a life together. But when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Mr. Merezhko rejoined the military to fight. About a month later, Ms. Dluzhynska followed, as a medic, to be near him.

“She left everything and went to war with me,” he said.

At the wedding ceremony, in an event space with a roof deck overlooking Kyiv, cloth azaleas formed a white arch. Thirteen white chairs were arranged in neat rows, though the only guests were Zemliachky volunteers.

Ukrainian music played until the bride started down the aisle in a white, off-the-shoulder gown. Then John Legend’s “All of Me” came on — and the kisses followed.

In his vows, Mr. Merezhko drew laughs describing how he had worn dirty shorts to their first meeting.

Her vows were shorter, under a minute, and barely audible.

“When you said: ‘I want to grow old with you,’ I realized that this is great love and this is the man I asked God for,” she whispered, through tears.

Even on their special day, the war was not far from their minds.

The ceremony ended with a cry of “Slava Ukraini” — Glory to Ukraine! The cake was decorated like a Ukrainian flag. The champagne, a 2021 vintage from the ravaged eastern city of Bakhmut.

“We will live,” Mr. Merezhko said, beaming after the ceremony. “We will have children, then grandchildren, and we will babysit the grandchildren. I will teach my grandchildren to fish and plant potatoes.”

After their honeymoon, they would head to Donetsk, back toward the front line. Ms. Dluzhynska had a simpler wish for their future. “The main thing is to survive,” she said.

Stanislav Kozliuk and Daria Mitiuk contributed reporting.

— Cassandra Vinograd reporting from Kyiv, Ukraine

Russia says it intercepted a drone near Moscow, blaming Ukraine.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said early Friday that it had shot down a drone aimed at the Moscow region, saying that Ukraine was behind the latest such attack near the Russian capital.

The strike, which could not be independently confirmed, would be the second attempted drone attack in the capital region in less than a week. On Monday, an intercepted drone attack in central Moscow that Russia also blamed on Ukraine damaged at least two nonresidential buildings. Ukraine did not comment on the claims.

The Russian Defense Ministry said that Friday’s attempted strike caused no casualties or damage. President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia is in St. Petersburg, about 400 miles away, hosting African leaders at a summit.

Several drone attacks of differing magnitudes have targeted Moscow since May, bringing the conflict home to people who had largely been sheltered from the effects of the war being waged by Mr. Putin hundreds of miles away. Kyiv has largely taken an ambiguous position on drone attacks within Russia’s borders.

Within the past year or so, a brazen drone assault hit military air bases deep inside Russia; a drone hit an oil facility near an airfield in the Russian province of Kursk. And in May, drones exploded over the Kremlin , an assault that U.S. officials said was most likely carried out by one of Kyiv’s special military or intelligence units.

Analysts note that Russia is vulnerable to such strikes in part because of its size, but also because its air defense radars are designed to detect aircraft and missiles bigger than drones. Apart from creating a sense of vulnerability in Russia, Ukrainian drone attacks could serve to test Moscow’s air defense systems and identify potential weaknesses that could be exploited in other attacks.

Moscow said the strike on Monday was intercepted near an avenue running through one of the city’s most upscale parts, and close to a building housing the Russian National Defense Management Center. Videos verified by The New York Times showed damage in at least two locations near the Moskva River in the southern part of the city.

Russia has regularly attacked Ukrainian cities with missiles and drones, hitting the port city of Odesa multiple times over the past week in an effort to block the country from shipping its grain.

— Victoria Kim

Putin presses his charm offensive with African leaders for a second day.

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia was set to wrap up a two-day summit with African leaders in St. Petersburg on Friday, redoubling his efforts to cast Moscow as a dependable international partner with pledges of food aid, at the end of a week that began with a Russian attack on a Danube River port to further impair Ukraine’s food export routes.

Mr. Putin told the leaders gathered for the conference, whose countries are among the most vulnerable to food insecurity, that Western nations, not Russia, were to blame for the collapse of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, the deal that had allowed Ukrainian grain to be shipped in the midst of war.

On Friday, he repeated his oft-stated — and misleading — contention that Russia was interested in negotiations to end the war, but that Ukraine and the West refuse to engage. Ukraine says it won’t make any territorial concessions, while the Kremlin has already declared four Ukrainian regions it partly controls to be part of Russia.

“We, of course, agree with you that all contradictions must be decided in the course of negotiations,” Mr. Putin said in a televised round-table discussion with African leaders. “But the problem is that they are refusing to negotiate with us.”

The summit was attended by 17 African leaders, the Russian state news agency Tass reported , a fraction of the 45 who attended the previous Russia-Africa summit in 2019. A Kremlin adviser had said earlier this week that 21 leaders were expected to attend. Mr. Putin is set on Friday to again address the conference’s plenary session and hold bilateral meetings with the leaders, according to Tass.

In his speech on Thursday, Mr. Putin said Russia would deliver 25,000 to 50,000 tons of free grain each to Burkina Faso, the Central African Republic, Eritrea, Mali, Somalia and Zimbabwe in the next three to four months. The promise appeared aimed at tempering criticism that Russia had imperiled the global food supply by pulling out last week from the grain deal, then bombarding Ukrainian ports and other infrastructure used to transport food.

The promise of aid was largely bestowed on nations that had aligned with Moscow. Of the six countries, only Somalia voted against Russia in support of a United Nations resolution that called for an end to the war in Ukraine. In Mali and the Central African Republic, Russia’s Wagner mercenary group has propped up authoritarian governments.

President Azali Assoumani of Comoros, the current chairman of the African Union, said at the summit that rising food prices caused by the “Ukraine crisis” were jeopardizing “a large number of lives,” according to the Russian translation of his remarks. He called for both Russian and Ukrainian grain exports to be facilitated.

Mr. Putin interrupted his courting of African leaders on Thursday to speak to Russian state television about the most recent attack by Ukrainian forces, who, according to U.S. officials, launched the main thrust of their counteroffensive this week. He said Ukrainian troops had been pushed back with heavy losses.

— Victoria Kim and Anton Troianovski

Unverified photographs of Prigozhin surface as African leaders convene in St. Petersburg.

Unverified photographs began circulating on social media Thursday suggesting that Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, the Russian mercenary boss who led a short-lived mutiny in June, was meeting with African officials in St. Petersburg, where some of the continent’s top leaders have converged for a summit with President Vladimir V. Putin.

The whereabouts and status of Mr. Prigozhin, a caterer turned warlord, have been the subject of continuing questions since he tried to topple the Russian defense leadership last month, posing the biggest security threat to Mr. Putin’s government in decades.

Questions also have persisted about what will become of Mr. Prigozhin’s operations in Africa , where his Wagner forces are active in a number of countries, including the Central African Republic and Mali.

The unverified images suggested not only that Mr. Prigozhin was moving freely in Russia but that he also had access to figures attending a major diplomatic event, suggesting the Kremlin may be endeavoring to harness his contacts and political good will in Africa despite the mutiny.

The first photograph that appeared to connect Mr. Prigozhin to the summit surfaced on a Facebook account registered in the name of Dmitri Sytyi , a Russian national on whom the U.S. Treasury has imposed sanctions and described as an employee of Mr. Prigozhin in the Central African Republic. Neither the account nor the photograph could be independently verified.

The photograph shows Mr. Prigozhin shaking hands with a man described in news media reports as a top official from the Central African Republic. They are standing beside what appeared to be an elevator in the Trezzini Palace, a luxury hotel in St. Petersburg long associated with Mr. Prigozhin.

The hotel is about 40 minutes by car from the conference venue for the Russia-Africa summit, suggesting that Mr. Prigozhin may have been meeting with attendees one-on-one outside the confines of the event rather than attending it. In the photograph, the African official appears to be wearing the multicolored lanyard from the summit.

Another photograph appeared on a Telegram channel associated with Wagner later in the day, showing Mr. Prigozhin dressed in the same white button-down shirt and bluejeans, meeting with an executive from an African media conglomerate known for espousing pro-Kremlin views.

The location of the meeting was unknown. In the image, Mr. Prigozhin is standing in front of a large map of Africa. A Telegram channel associated with Wagner described the photograph as a meeting with the director of Afrique Média, a television channel based in Cameroon that has a partnership with the Russian state television network RT.

Afrique Média did not respond to a request for comment.

A video appeared on Russian social media last week that apparently showed Mr. Prigozhin addressing his Wagner forces in Belarus, where the Kremlin said the mercenary boss would be moving as part of a deal he struck with Mr. Putin to stop the mutiny.

In the days since then, however, Mr. Prigozhin has been spotted in Russia, raising questions about whether he indeed will retreat into an agreed-upon exile in Belarus, the neighboring nation closely allied with Moscow.

— Paul Sonne

Their effort to rally South America behind Ukraine nearly got them killed.

Héctor Abad Faciolince grew up in what had been one of the most violent cities on earth. Since Colombia won its independence more than 200 years ago, it has weathered political unrest, military crackdowns and violent drug cartels.

His own father, who had accused the military of sponsoring death squads, was assassinated in 1987 by paramilitary forces that had turned his hometown, Medellín, into a war zone.

But his own brush with death came half a world away.

At the end of a trip last month that he and two fellow Colombians hoped could aid their quixotic quest to build support in South America for Ukraine’s battle against Russia, a missile tore through a crowded restaurant where they’d just raised their glasses for a toast. At least 13 people were killed, including their guide, the Ukrainian writer Victoria Amelina .

“I could only think: they killed us,” Mr. Abad said. “That was the last thing I could think of.”

Nearly a year and a half since Russia invaded Ukraine, much of South America has largely avoided picking sides in the war. Longstanding views that a multipolar, less-Western global order is in their best interests have prompted governments to oppose the fighting but reject attempts to isolate Russia diplomatically, impose economic sanctions or supply weapons to Ukraine.

And many average citizens, polls suggest, view the war as something too distant to care about, a proxy war between global powers doing what they’ve always done: impose their wills on smaller countries.

Opposition to such widespread apathy put Mr. Abad and two fellow Colombians — Catalina Gómez Ángel, a journalist, and Sergio Jaramillo, a former defense minister who led the government’s peace agreement with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia — unwittingly in the line of fire.

— Gabriela Sá Pessoa

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